Field day, fish count and interaction with fishermen at Benaulim, Goa

    A field day was organised at fish landing site at Benaulim beach, Goa in association with Carmel College for Women, Nuvem, Goa on 12 December 2024. The operation of coastal fishing gears such as beach seine and gillnets were demonstrated with the support from the fishermen association of Benaulim. A total of 30 fishermen operating beach seine and gillnet (all men) along with seven students (all women), pursuing their research project on the by-catch analysis of coastal fisheries from Carmel College for Women participated in the event. Dr Sreekanth GB, Senior Scientist (FRM) from ICAR-CCARI explained the operation of the gear and demonstrated the fish biodiversity observed in the beach seine fishery and gillnet fishery. Dr Manoj Borkar, Professor of Zoology from Carmel College explained the history and dynamics of coastal fishing in Goa. A total of 55 fish and shellfish species were counted during the event and the major species caught were mackerel, croakers, carangids, shrimps, mullets, squids and silver bellies. The major non-targetted species caught was jellyfish, which poses a menace for the coastal fishermen during the fishing operations especially when sorting the catch. The fishermen highlighted that the control measures for jellyfish needs to be investigated in order to smoothen the fishing operations. They assured continuous support to the academic and research initiatives of ICAR-CCARI and Carmel College.